Flying fox

Flying fox
Flying Fly"ing, a. [From {Fly}, v. i.] Moving in the air with, or as with, wings; moving lightly or rapidly; intended for rapid movement. [1913 Webster]

{Flying army} (Mil.) a body of cavalry and infantry, kept in motion, to cover its own garrisons and to keep the enemy in continual alarm. --Farrow.

{Flying artillery} (Mil.), artillery trained to rapid evolutions, -- the men being either mounted or trained to spring upon the guns and caissons when they change position.

{Flying bridge}, {Flying camp}. See under {Bridge}, and {Camp}.

{Flying buttress} (Arch.), a contrivance for taking up the thrust of a roof or vault which can not be supported by ordinary buttresses. It consists of a straight bar of masonry, usually sloping, carried on an arch, and a solid pier or buttress sufficient to receive the thrust. The word is generally applied only to the straight bar with supporting arch.

{Flying colors}, flags unfurled and waving in the air; hence:

{To come off with flying colors}, to be victorious; to succeed thoroughly in an undertaking.

{Flying doe} (Zo["o]l.), a young female kangaroo.

{Flying dragon}. (a) (Zo["o]l.) See {Dragon}, 6. (b) A meteor. See under {Dragon}.

{Flying Dutchman}. (a) A fabled Dutch mariner condemned for his crimes to sail the seas till the day of judgment. (b) A spectral ship.

{Flying fish}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Flying fish}, in the Vocabulary.

{Flying fox} (Zo["o]l.), see {Flying fox} in the vocabulary.

{Flying frog} (Zo["o]l.), either of two East Indian tree frogs of the genus {Rhacophorus} ({Rhacophorus nigrapalmatus} and {Rhacophorus pardalis}), having very large and broadly webbed feet, which serve as parachutes, and enable it to make very long leaps.

{Flying gurnard} (Zo["o]l.), a species of gurnard of the genus {Cephalacanthus} or {Dactylopterus}, with very large pectoral fins, said to be able to fly like the flying fish, but not for so great a distance.

Note: Three species are known; that of the Atlantic is {Cephalacanthus volitans}.

{Flying jib} (Naut.), a sail extended outside of the standing jib, on the flying-jib boom.

{Flying-jib boom} (Naut.), an extension of the jib boom.

{Flying kites} (Naut.), light sails carried only in fine weather.

{Flying lemur}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Colugo}.

{Flying level} (Civil Engin.), a reconnoissance level over the course of a projected road, canal, etc.

{Flying lizard}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Dragon}, n. 6.

{Flying machine}, any apparatus for navigating through the air, especially a heavier-than-air machine. -- {Flying mouse} (Zo["o]l.), the opossum mouse ({Acrobates pygm[ae]us}), a marsupial of Australia. Called also {feathertail glider}.

Note: It has lateral folds of skin, like the flying squirrels, and a featherlike tail. -- {Flying party} (Mil.), a body of soldiers detailed to hover about an enemy. -- {Flying phalanger} (Zo["o]l.), one of several species of small marsuupials of the genera {Petaurus} and {Belideus}, of Australia and New Guinea, having lateral folds like those of the flying squirrels. The sugar squirrel ({Belideus sciureus}), and the ariel ({Belideus ariel}), are the best known; -- called also {squirrel petaurus} and {flying squirrel}. See {Sugar squirrel}. -- {Flying pinion}, the fly of a clock. -- {Flying sap} (Mil.), the rapid construction of trenches (when the enemy's fire of case shot precludes the method of simple trenching), by means of gabions placed in juxtaposition and filled with earth. -- {Flying shot}, a shot fired at a moving object, as a bird on the wing. -- {Flying spider}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Ballooning spider}. -- {Flying squid} (Zo["o]l.), an oceanic squid ({Ommastrephes Bartramii} syn. {Sthenoteuthis Bartramii}), abundant in the Gulf Stream, which is able to leap out of the water with such force that it often falls on the deck of a vessel. -- {Flying squirrel} (Zo["o]l.) See {Flying squirrel}, in the Vocabulary. -- {Flying start}, a start in a sailing race in which the signal is given while the vessels are under way. -- {Flying torch} (Mil.), a torch attached to a long staff and used for signaling at night. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Flying Fox — à Jardy vers 1905 Flying Fox Le cheval qui valait un million de francs or (1896 1911) Sommaire 1 Ses origines 2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Flying fox — Fly ing fox (Zo[ o]l.) 1. a fruit bat of the genus {Pteropus}, which has a head resembling that of a fox. [PJC] 2. the {colugo}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • flying fox — n a type of ↑bat that lives in hot countries and eats fruit …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • flying fox — noun count a FRUITBAT …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • flying fox — n. any of a genus (Pteropus, family Pteropodidae) of fruit bats with a foxlike head, living in Africa, Australia, and S Asia …   English World dictionary

  • flying fox — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms flying fox : singular flying fox plural flying foxes a fruitbat …   English dictionary

  • Flying Fox Waterhole — Bild gesucht  BW Geographische Lage Western Australia (Australien) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Flying Fox (disambiguation) — Flying Fox can refer to: *Bats of the Genus Pteropus / megabat. *The epalzeorhynchus kallopterus , a tropical species of fish. *An Australianism for Zip line. * Flying Fox 1899 Triple Crown Champion of British Thoroughbred Racing * Flying Foxes… …   Wikipedia

  • Flying Fox Pass — is a locality in the Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, in New South Wales, Australia. Overlooking the Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales, Flying Fox Pass is so named as it was the sight of a Flying Fox used to transport valuable timber from the valley …   Wikipedia

  • Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain — For other uses, see Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (disambiguation). Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain   …   Wikipedia

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